Germans have long been a scattered people. Millions of Americans identify their ancestral roots as German. For many, however, their ancestors spoke German but never lived in what constitutes modern Germany. Some “Germans” never even lived is what could be called a German states or territories. From the middle ages on, German-speaking communities have thrived [...]
Germans are the second largest ethnic group in the United States. Only the English are more numerous. Even at that, these groups represent generations of families living in America. European countries hardly represent today’s largest immigrant groups. However, they are the foundation for the larger part of the population and were once the largest groups [...]
Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration: A British Government Redemptioner Project to Manufacture Naval Stores is a scholarly book, full of details and amassed facts in an effort to explain the mass migrations from the war torn Rhine Valley in the early 1700s. The Palatines were driven from their homes, into the British Empire, by circumstance [...]
Across the Atlantic and Beyond: The Migration of German and Swiss Immigrants to America is an attempt to explain the genealogical mysteries associated with so many immigrant families. Why are there so many different spelling changes for family names? What drove people to move around? What factors contributed to the turbulent environment so many lived [...]
Since Columbus introduced (or re-introduced if you prefer) the Americas to Europe, people have come, wave after wave, seeking a new life in the rich new world. America, since its colonial days, has experienced an almost never ending flow of immigrants. There are at least four identifiable time periods in which “waves” of people came [...]
Family Roots Publishing is offering German researchers a four-book package at a discounted price. Three of these books are by Fay and Douglas Dearden, with the final acting as an updated supplemental to one of the books. Together these books help you find and read German records, including reading Old Gothic. Here is a brief [...]
Historically, Germans represent one of the largest immigrant groups in America. Germans and their descendents have played major rolls in the political and industrial history of this country. As America is considered the great melting pot, and with so many immigrant Germans in the earliest years, there is a really good chance for finding at [...]
German maps are incredibly popular and extremely important to German research. During the middle ages and on up to the First World War a modest portion of western-central Europe was a land of ever changing boundaries. In the heart of this area were the German people. At different times, different rulers and governments ruled the [...]
Looking back at this past year, like many other years, two groups stand out in popularity amongst genealogists, identified in large part by book sales, Germans and the Irish. Naturally, the large portion of the U.S. population descended from these two groups is the main cause of its popularity. However, the overall quality and research [...]
“This webinar changed my whole perspective on German Genealogy”—viewer comment Web seminars, or “Webinars,” have quickly become one of the most popular ways for professionals and companies to share information with large groups of individuals from across the country, or even around the world, without the high cost of travel. Webinars are just like seminars. [...]
Thirty Thousand Names of Immigrants in Pennsylvania. This is one title that just about says it all. Of course, the expanded title page gives even greater clarity as to the origin of these names: A Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French, and Other Immigrants in Pennsylvania From 1727 to [...]
Anyone who knows Leland Meitzler, operator of the GenealogyBlog, knows he has a passion for German research. Now, he has turned his personal experience into a new book, German Genealogy Research Online: Tips and Links. Written to help genealogists with online research, the book deals with using the Internet to advance an individual’s Germanic genealogy. [...]
Authors Fay Dearden and Douglas Dearden distinctly descibe their book, The German Researcher: How To Get The Most Out Of An LDS Family History Center, Fourth Edition, right up front in the first paragraph of their Introduction: “This book has been written to provide genealogists with a step-by-step guide to finding German information, especially when [...]
You never know where you will find a family reference, or important family historical data. Sometimes the best come from family histories written for others. Philip Oler was born somewhere in Germany in 1756 and died in Baltimore, Maryland, 1826. He was an early migrant, just slightly ahead of the the more well-know migration which [...]
Over the past few months I have reviewed a series of Atlases produced by Carrie Eldridge. These unique map books show the migration and population spread of early colonists and their descendant from the colonial days through the California Gold Rush years. Each has focuses on trail and settlements. Now, I can present one more [...]
